By Irv Grossman and James Kilkelly | January 31, 2018 Unless you were an early adopter of one of those clunky analog true cellular phones...

Unless you were an early adopter of one of those clunky analog true cellular phones that were only available with per-minute calling plans, you probably don’t have to look back beyond 15 years to remember your first mobile phone. The sales proposition was pretty universal across carriers: Sign a contract and get a free phone that would be subsidized by your monthly service payment. Then, every so often, you might be able to get an upgrade—but you probably had to switch providers to get the best “new customer” deals.

Those plans have almost all gone the way of the dodo. Service plans are now typically distinct from phone purchasing. Carriers often arrange financing options, but don’t actually subsidize the cost of the phone. Though trade-ins are still commonly referred to as upgrades, they are based on the remaining values of the devices that are turned in. So what changed, and why does it matter to you as a supply chain manager? [Full Story]